Art and Upheaval
Artists on the World's Frontlines
2008, 326 pages. Published by New Village Press, PO Box 3049 Oakland, CA, 94609, (510) 420-1361, www.newvillagepress.net
Artists in communities in crises the world over are working to resolve conflict, promote peace, and rebuild civil society. Here are six stories of artists in Northern Ireland, Cambodia, South Africa, the United States (Watts, Los Angeles), aboriginal Australia, and Serbia, who heal unspeakable trauma, give voice to the forgotten and disappeared, and re-stitch the cultural fabric of their communities. These artists have generated new technologies for advocacy, organizing, peacemaking, and healing and demonstrate the power of creativity as a social tool.